Web filtering is most famously associated with the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 as a way to protect students from inappropriate, explicit content that can be accessible online. However, in both home and school settings, web filters—especially those that are cloud-based—are considerably more powerful.
Web filters operate with browsers to block restricted websites, ensuring secure browsing for all users on your network. Let’s explore why to choose cloud-based web filtering for schools.
1: CIPA Compliance
Schools and libraries must conform to the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 (CIPA) to qualify for cheap internet access or other services. CIPA is a law that Congress passed intending to prevent kids from accessing inappropriate and dangerous content.
Schools must implement technological security measures to remain compliant. For this, a web content filtering tool is essential. Schools should verify that the filtering program they select complies with CIPA.
2: Real-Time Updates and Threat Protection
Online hazards are always changing along with the internet itself. Schools can keep ahead of the curve in terms of security thanks to cloud-based web content filtering, which takes advantage of real-time updates and threat intelligence.
Cloud-based filters can quickly recognize and stop emerging threats by drawing on a broad network of threat information sources.
This proactive approach is essential for establishing a safe digital space for students, and shielding them from phishing scams, malware websites, and other online threats.
3: Simple to set up
Web filtering programs have primarily utilized hardware devices and routers up until recently. The installation of these gadgets is frequently challenging, and IT managers must maintain them constantly. The costs associated with required updates and supplemental features can become prohibitive.
The user-friendly user interface of cloud-based web filtering, on the other hand, enables quick and simple setup. Parental control tools can also be accessed in this manner quite easily.
4: Protect Students from Cyberbullying
Cloud-based web filtering programs can protect adolescents against online hazards such as cyberbullying and predators. This kind of stuff can be blocked using the various filtering options that cloud providers normally provide.
For instance, cloud service providers can prevent users from visiting websites that are frequently visited by online predators or cyberbullies. This system scans student social media posts for signs of cyberbullying, self-harm, or grief and notifies administrators and/or school officials.
5: Cost-efficiency and Resource Utilization
Budget restrictions are a frequent problem for academic institutions. By doing away with the need for significant hardware investments and continuous maintenance, cloud-based web content filtering provides a cost-effective alternative.
Schools can improve students’ educational experiences by repurposing funds that would have been used for hardware improvements and maintenance.
Moreover, schools have the freedom to pay only for the services they use at the time they require them because cloud solutions frequently use a subscription-based business model.
6: Flexibility and Customization
Schools may need the flexibility to occasionally soften rules. For instance, they might decide to permit gaming websites during unscheduled hours that might be restricted at other times. This kind of personalization is simple to achieve with a competent web content filtering application for schools.
A crucial tool for ensuring that kids have secure access to the educational materials they require and stay away from hazardous and distracting content is flexible, strong content blocking for schools. Take a free online test drive to see how web content filtering systems operate for yourself.
7: Automatic Updates and Maintenance
Cloud-based web content filtering systems frequently handle updates automatically, in contrast to conventional on-premises solutions. With the help of this automation, school IT staff doesn’t need to keep the filtering technology current with the most recent security protocols and content categorizations.
Schools can more effectively spend their IT resources, concentrating on strategic projects rather than routine maintenance, by decreasing the load of manual maintenance duties.
Let’s take two case studies:
School District 1: A sizable American school district was having trouble maintaining its in-house online filtering system. The system did not give the school district the security and control it required, was expensive to implement, and was challenging to maintain.
The school district was able to save costs, increase security, and obtain more visibility and control over student internet usage by switching to cloud-based web filtering technology.
School 2: To ensure that it complied with CIPA and other laws, a US charter school needed a web filtering solution. The school was also looking for a solution that would help safeguard pupils from internet threats and increase student productivity.
The institution selected a cloud-based web filtering program that was created especially for educational institutions. The cloud-based solution aided the school’s efforts to adhere to rules, boost pupil productivity, and safeguard pupils from internet threats.
Conclusion
Schools that want to provide a safe, adaptable, and rewarding digital learning environment should strategically switch to cloud-based web content filtering. A tempting option for educational institutions navigating the difficulties of the digital ecosystem is cloud solutions, which offer accessibility, real-time threat prevention, cost-efficiency, user-friendly management, and educational empowerment.
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